Poles

[jhb0510]

Hi

There was some interresting posts about using poles in the UTMB thread, so I thought I would start a thread about them specifically to get everyones take on them.

I have always been a bit anti poles, very bigoted, but there are just too many people walking around St Ives streets with them!

A freind of mine who does alot of walking convinced me to have a go with some so I got a £13 pair from Tesco to see how I got on with them. In February I went up onto Dartmoor and found I got on with them quite well and felt even better about being able to leave the front pole of my Tarptent Squall behind and used the trekking pole instead.

On the basis of this successful outing I bought a pair of TiGoat AGPs: http://www.titaniumgoat.com/poles.html (The lowers are now carbon too) I particularly liked the look of these as you can join the two poles together without carrying anythin extra to make a longer tent pole, so I can use them with my Mountain Hardwear Kiva).

I took them for a walk on the coast path, but found that the places I really wanted to use them the path was too narrow and I ended up carrying them much of the way!

I then used them again on Dartmoor when it was really horrible, mist and heavy horrizontal rain. I made a navigational error I'm convinced I would not have made had I been carrying my map and compass and not poles! This is my biggest issue with poles, how do you navigated effectively? Sure you can stop and get your map and compass out, but that is going to slow you down. I tend to navigate on the move, looking at the map fairly frequently, but not actually stopping.

Does anyone else have any thoughts about the use of ploes?

James

[Brotherton Lad]

101 uses for a dead ploe?

I understand they're good for exercising the upper body, a bit like lang-lauf skiing, but, God, I hate them. Clicky-clacky, trippy-uppy, spendy-money gee-gaws.

[Grouse]

Are any other East European nationals as effective?

[Multiterrainer]

Are any other East European nationals as effective?

Czechs are if made payable to 'm....... ..........'

Actually I'm a single pole user just for taking pressure off knees for steep rocky descents - when walking not running that is. Cannot use a pair of em trekking stylee tho.

[DaveSwift]

I'm sure they are useful and i have no objections to there use in races, however i won't be adding them to my kit list any time soon.

[Twister]

I'm a bit anti poles, as a fan of minimalist running I find them hard to place in this philosiphy. I also suspect that a 13 quid pair does the same thing as a 70 quid pair.

I think that they are just as much a mental aid as a physical aid.

[plodding bear]

I tried some once, couldn't get on with them. One wasn't too bad for steep descents, but two kept threatening to trip me up, and stopped me from using my hands for anything else whilst on the move - eating, drinking, mapreading to name but three. also, I felt a bit of a tw@, to be honest, and didn't get any real benefit from them.
But others swear by them, so it's whatever works for the individual, I suppose!

[Alexandra]

Hi

There was some interresting posts about using poles in the UTMB thread, so I thought I would start a thread about them specifically to get everyones take on them.

I bought a pair of TiGoat AGPs: http://www.titaniumgoat.com/poles.html

I took them for a walk on the coast path, but found that the places I really wanted to use them the path was too narrow and I ended up carrying them much of the way!

I then used them again on Dartmoor when it was really horrible, mist and heavy horrizontal rain. I made a navigational error I'm convinced I would not have made had I been carrying my map and compass and not poles! This is my biggest issue with poles, how do you navigated effectively? Sure you can stop and get your map and compass out, but that is going to slow you down. I tend to navigate on the move, looking at the map fairly frequently, but not actually stopping.

James

I use my poles throughout every walk, whatever the terrain, because I think they help my dodgy knees and I am certain they help my dodgy balance. I agree they can be unuseable on narrow paths. Sometimes I find I can use one pole while carrying the other. However, part of the problem is that the baskets catch in vegetation and also in loose stones, and I recently walked with someone who had removed the baskets from his poles, making them much easier to use. Now I want to remove mine, but Leki baskets seem very firmly fixed. Suggstions?

For map reading when walking, I use a map case, and to stop it swinging around I have attached 2 small curtain rings to my waist belt and clip the bottom of the map case to them with mini karabiniers. Yes, the poles do slow down other procedures such as blowing my nose, but the best way is to make sure you buy the poles with ski pole type loops and keep your hands through them. Then the loops can remain on the wrists while the hands are busy.

[Mark G]

Behind a runner with a pair in a race once - I wouldn't have been behind him if I could have got past but his poles were in the way! My wife uses a pair for walking and finds them a big help on steep or loose ground going up or down but I hope they dont catch on for use during races.

[Sam Harrison]

I've tried poles a number of times and I can't say they help me at all, however I know some people swear by them and I can see they definitely coming down steep ascent (when walking that is). They're a lot more popular over in Europe, I'll never forget going up Petit Mont Blanc a few years ago and being completely amazed at the sheer amount of stud marks (from poles) over the summit and on our path down.